The July cover of National Geographic magazine features a stunning photo of three cavers rappelling down a stupendously deep pit in a cave. The pit’s mind-boggling size makes the cavers seem tiny, like little spiders dangling from silk threads in an empty farm silo.
I’ve never been in the pit but I’ve seen many photos of it taken by caving friends over the years. So, when I first saw the magazine cover, I knew immediately that the picture was of the Fantastic Pit in Ellison’s Cave under Pigeon Mountain in northwest Georgia’s Walker County.
Ellison’s Cave is the nation’s 12th-deepest cave, stretching some 12 miles in length with a total vertical descent of 1,063 feet. However, it’s most famous for its 586-foot-deep Fantastic Pit, the deepest cave drop in the continental United States. The Washington Monument (556 feet tall) could easily fit into it.
A sister cave, Pettyjohn, on Pigeon Mountain also is impressive with a length of 31,490 feet and a depth of 235 feet.
I have walked and crawled into the first 40 feet or so of both caves, but, beyond that, I have left further exploration to skilled cavers — which I am not.
But I visit Pigeon Mountain — located in the 20,600-acre Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area — several times a year for its other amazing features, which are more publicly accessible. Pigeon Mountain is one of Georgia’s most remarkable natural treasures. Its other features include:
• Rocktown, which encompasses spectacular rock formations atop the mountain. The naturally sculpted rocks, some say, rival the world-famous Rock City on Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• The Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail that runs through the “Pocket,” where riots of bright, colorful wildflowers bloom in early spring. Flower lovers say it is Georgia’s best wildflower walk from mid-March to mid-April. The trail also leads to a magnificent waterfall.
• McLemore Cove, a breathtakingly splendid mountain valley between Pigeon Mountain and Lookout Mountain. To me, it is one of Georgia’s most beautiful natural landscapes.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon will be first quarter on Tuesday. Mercury (very low) and Venus (low) are in the west just after sunset. Mars is in the southwest at dark. Jupiter and Saturn rise in the east at around midnight.
Charles Seabrook can be reached at charles.seabrook@yahoo.com.
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